Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $8.77 Million Stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its holdings in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,343 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,767 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in General Mills were worth $8,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GIS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter valued at $377,205,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in General Mills by 106.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,442,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,345 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 257.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,061,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,954,000 after purchasing an additional 765,070 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 165.6% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,049,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,381,000 after purchasing an additional 654,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Mills by 6,893.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 512,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,361,000 after purchasing an additional 504,816 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Mills

In related news, insider Werner Lanette Shaffer sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.57, for a total value of $50,104.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,227,706.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Mills Stock Performance

GIS stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $62.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,670,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,183,519. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.65. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.33 and a fifty-two week high of $77.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 12.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This is a positive change from General Mills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GIS shares. HSBC lifted their target price on General Mills from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of General Mills from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on General Mills from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.00.

General Mills Company Profile

General Mills, Inc manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates through four segments: North America Retail; International; Pet; and North America Foodservice. It offers grain, ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables.